For years, a class of abrasive articles known generically as “structured abrasive articles” has been sold commercially for use in surface finishing. Structured abrasive articles have a structured abrasive layer affixed to a backing, and are typically used in conjunction with a liquid such as, for example, water, optionally containing surfactant. The structured abrasive layer has a plurality of shaped abrasive composites (typically having minute size), each having abrasive particles dispersed a binder. In many cases, the shaped abrasive composites are precisely shaped, for example, according to various geometric shapes (e.g., pyramids). Examples of such structured abrasive articles include those marketed under the trade designation “TRIZACT” by 3M Company, St. Paul, Minn.
Structured abrasive articles are often used in combination with a backup pad mounted to a tool (e.g., a disk sander or a random orbit sander). In such applications, structured abrasive articles typically have an attachment interface layer (e.g., a hooked film, looped fabric, or adhesive) that affixes them to the back up pad during use.
Conventional structured abrasive articles often have problems with “stiction”, the tendency for the abrasive surface to stick to a workpiece when used in the damp abrading processes typical of industry. To reduce stiction, one solution has been to provide uncoated regions on the backing that separate regions of close-packed shaped abrasive composites; however, during manufacturing this approach can lead to aberrations in the structured abrasive layer (e.g., extraneous abrasive material weakly attached to the shaped abrasive composites as shown, for example, in FIG. 6) that result in wild scratches in a workpiece during use.